So many thousands of years have passed and so
many scholars have written about the ancient gods and deities that it is
difficult to decipher the being known as Hermes Trismegistus and separate
fiction from fact.

Unfortunately, conflicting views exist on whether Hermes Trismegistus was a man or a god. Frances A. Yates suggests those living in
Renaissance times believed he was a man: "It was on excellent authority that the
Renaissance accepted Hermes Trismegistus as a real person of great antiquity and
as the author of the Hermetic writings." A city known as Hermopolis that existed
in Egypt in ancient times strengthens the claim.

Other scholars conjecture that different
individuals completed the Hermetic writings over several hundred years. Perhaps
the most important piece of evidence to back up this claim is the Syrian
philosopher Iamblichus crediting Hermes with writing over 20,000 books and an
Egyptian priest named Manetho crediting him with writing more than 36,000 books.
Both of these men lived around 250-300 BC. Iamblichus went on to state he had
seen forty-two of these books, thirty-six of which contained "the whole of human
knowledge".

Many scholars have long held Hermes Trismegistus
to be the equivalent of the Egyptian god Thoth, which certainly suggests he was
not a real person. Frans A. Janssen subscribes to this view, describing
Hermes Trismegistus as a "fictitious author" in his essay Dutch Translations
of the Corpus Hermeticum. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Hermes was a man
elevated to deity status and even if Hermes Trismegistus did not write the texts
attributed to him, it is likely that a priest of the Egyptian god Thoth did.
Others, such as Stock, state that Hermes Trismegistus was actually the grandson
of the Hellenistic god Hermes, the messenger of the gods.

The word Trismegistus literally means
"thrice-greatest" and some believe Hermes’ title may actually come from the
Rosetta Stone. There are many theories on the acquisition of the name
Trismegistus, but most academics believe Hermes acquired his name from the
epithet used for the Egyptian god Thoth – "greatest and greatest god, great
Hermes." Another popular and widely accepted interpretation of the term "Thrice
Great" comes from Hermes’ reputation as the greatest philosopher, king and
priest in the entire world.

The Emerald Tablet

TheEmerald Tablet or Tabula
Smaragdina is Hermes’ most famous legacy and his best known work among
modern-day practitioners of alchemy. Many legends exist regarding the discovery
of the Emerald Tablet, although the most popular seems to be the story of
Alexander the Great unearthing the text in Hermes’ tomb. The original Emerald
Tablet, however, is lost to time.

The content of the Emerald Tablet is quite short
and deals with the nature of magic and the creation of life and matter by one
God. Philosophical in nature, the text is often ambiguous and requires abstract
interpretation. Hermes may have also derived his moniker "Thrice Great" from the
tablet, its twelfth entry stating: "Therefore am I called Hermes Trismegistus,
possessing the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world." It is
difficult to identity the "three parts of the philosophy of the whole world". It
may have been in reference to the process of deifying a mortal. Others apply a
more literal meaning, stating he was the greatest philosopher of various
intellectual disciplines, such as natural science.

The Corpus Hermeticum

Whereas the Emerald Tablet remains lost to modern
civilization, the Corpus Hermeticum presents a different tale. The texts
of the Corpus Hermeticum remained comparatively obscure until 1460, when
Cosimo de Medici received them as a gift. He immediately commanded the texts be
translated into Latin so he might read them for himself. Almost two hundred
years later, in 1650, a man by the name of John Everard translated the texts
into English.

Much of the Corpus Hermeticum is
theoretical in nature, but the teachings often clearly set out the nature of
alchemy. Hermes’ writings also recorded accurate scientific observations, such
as the polarity of objects and the principle of cause and effect.

The repressive Inquisition had a terrible effect
on uncovering the knowledge of Hermeticism, however a number of cathedrals –
including the one in Sienna, Italy – bear depictions of Hermes Trismegistus. It
is important to remember that Hermes Trismegistus (assuming he was not a god
himself) was a monotheist and one of his disciples was actually reputed to have
been the Biblical Moses. Some believe that Hermes even prophesied that a man
from the "lower social classes" would lead the Jews to freedom.

In the Corpus Hermeticum, there are
accounts of the creation of mankind, although in this creation theory man is
somewhat more power than in the Biblical version: he creates the animals of
Earth after traveling through the "seven levels of reality" (keeping in mind
that seven is a holy number) and becoming subject to the vagaries of fate.

Hermes
Trismegistus and Alchemy

Hermes is perhaps alchemy’s most important
ancient figure, and a patriarch of the art. Hermes Trismegistus was the god of
mathematics, writing and scholars and the reason why alchemy is now often known
as the "Hermetic Art". Many believe he also designed the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, built several pyramids and even taught the great mathematician
Pythagoras.

The long correlation between alchemy and Hermes
began two hundred years after the birth of Jesus Christ, when Gnostics
interpreted the texts of Hermes Trismegistus literally and began consistently
applying the teachings to their alchemical pursuits. Jean-Pierre Mahe believes
there were Judaistic Gnostic communities who acted much like secret societies do
today in addition to a more open system of Hermeticism in Egyptian lands prior
to extensive Roman conquest.

The knowledge moved to Arab lands in the
following centuries, possibly due to the rise in power of the Roman Catholic
Church, but found its way back into Europe via Cosimo de Medici during the
Renaissance. With independent learning once more encouraged and buoyant,
alchemists used the texts and alchemy eventually became known as the "Hermetic
Art".

The Corpus Hermeticum was invaluable in
advancing learning throughout the Renaissance. In the book Hermetica,
Adrian Gilbert writes: "The Hermetica have had a long and checkered career and
attitudes towards them have alternated between the extremes of enthusiasm for a
lost source of knowledge to scholarly disdain… It provided a justification for
studying astrology and this in due course led inevitably to the discovery that
the sun and not the Earth lies at the center of the solar system."

Despite the significance of the Hermetic texts to
the study of ancient civilizations and the belief systems of ancient times, the
study of alchemy quickly became the poor cousin of chemistry as the world
entered the Industrial Revolution and the modern age. Alchemy concentrated first
on the purification of the mind followed by self-knowledge, but chemistry
skipped straight to the lesser, physical aspects of the art.

Alchemy endured a long period where scholars
disregarded and scoffed at it whenever the opportunity arose. Hermes
Trismegistus was a figure of new age spiritualism, one to ignore and consider a
myth like so many other ancient gods.

That has changed. Even if Hermes Trismegistus did
not write all of the texts attributed to him, the works that collectively make
up the Hermetic writings were a bastion of learning in ancient times and allow
us a fascinating insight into the progression of knowledge up to the present
day. The University of Bristol School of Chemistry even features alchemy and
Hermes Trismegistus on its website. Perhaps one day Hermes Trismegistus will be
as well-known to the everyday person as Benjamin Franklin or Sir Isaac Newton …
and rightly so.

The
Emerald Tablet not only operates on the grand
scale of personal enlightenment but also on an every day, day to day, level
when you are seeking answers to questions and situations. Each question or
situation you find yourself to be in represents a different aspect of the whole
macro process of enlightenment. So even if you find yourself to be perplexed
about a seemingly small matter, by following the procedure of the Emerald
Tablet and
letting go of the dross and piercing the clouds of unknowing, the answer to that
small matter will be revealed to you just as the experience of total
enlightenment was. That is the whole theme of the Emerald Tablet, a continuing
spiral stream of enlightenment, knowledge by going from Above to Below and back
again. No matter how small, no matter how large, it is the same – Above to
Below and back again, a continuing spiraling process.

After
Enlightenment – what next – chop wood, carry water, do the laundry. The small
chores of life can be just as entangling as the search for your essence and so
to retain your balance, your Enlightenment, you must continue to employ the
same process over and over again seeking your answers in the Above and bringing
them down to the Below.

After
all, as sophisticated as man is with his technology and his vast accomplishments
and levels or organization, it is the small thing, the O-ring, the microbe, that
can bring those “measures of mankind” crashing down into oblivion. And so the
process goes, above to below, work and prayer, labor and oratory – always
asking, checking, verifying, praying, being unattached – watching for the rock
in the road. The big ones are easy to see. It is the small, the minute that are
treacherous, that can spell unseen disaster and that is the message of the
Emerald Tablet in so many words. As Above so Below – as Below, so Above –
continually over and over – as long as you live this earthly life.

For it
is in the Above, the universal knowledge, that unseen cosmic swirl of energy and
information that you must tap into for your answers – for all your answers come
from Above and all your questions come from Below.

For
we, humans, came from above to learn these special earthly lessons – the answers
and solutions and exercises come from Above to be realized here in the Below.
So the Emerald Tablet is not just an archaically phrased bit of ancient
knowledge for us to ponder it’s meaning in our lives. It is to be used each and
every day, each and every minute, so to speak, constantly throwing off the
dross, cutting to the chase – piercing the clouds of unknowing and reaching into
the Above for the answer.

Recent work
by Russian scientist Dr. Dmitriev (Russian National Academy of Sciences
Planetary Research Project in Novosibirsk, Siberia) shows that the planets
themselves are physically changing at an accelerated pace. Most notably, they
are undergoing major changes in their atmospheres.

For
example, the Martian atmosphere is getting sizably thicker than it was before.
The Mars observer probe in 1997 lost one of its mirrors, which caused it to
crash, because the atmosphere was about twice as dense as they calculated, and
basically the wind on that little mirror was so high that it blew it right off
the device. Earth's moon is growing an atmosphere Also, the moon is growing an
atmosphere that is made up of a compound Dmitriev refers to as alchemical
“Natrium.” Dmitriev says that, around the moon, there is this
6,000-kilometer-deep layer of Natrium that was not there before. And we are
having this kind of change in Earth's atmosphere in the upper levels, where HO
gas is forming that was not there before; it simply did not exist in
the quantity that it does now. It is not related to global warming, and it is
not related to CFCs or fluorocarbon emissions or any of that stuff. It is just
showing up.

Magnetic
fields and brightness of the planets are also changing. The planets are
experiencing sizable changes in their overall brightness. Venus, for example, is
showing us marked increases in its overall brightness. Jupiter has gotten to
have such a high energetic charge that there is actually a visible tube of
ionizing radiation that is formed between its moon, Io. You can actually see the
luminous energy tube in photographs that have been taken more recently. And the
planets are having a change in their fields. The magnetic fields are becoming
stronger. Jupiter's magnetic field has more than doubled. Uranus's magnetic
field is changing. Neptune's magnetic field is increasing. These planets are
becoming brighter. Their magnetic field strength is getting higher. Their
atmospheric qualities are changing.

Uranus and
Neptune appear to have had recent pole shifts. When the Voyager 2 space probe
flew past Uranus and Neptune, the apparent north and south magnetic poles were
sizably offset from where the rotational pole was. In one case, it was 50
degrees off, and in the other case the difference was around 40 degrees, both of
which are pretty big changes. The overall changes could essentially be broken
down into three categories: Energy field changes, luminosity changes, and
atmospheric changes. Overall volcanic activity has increased 500 percent since
1975.

On
the Earth, we are seeing the changes even more completely. For example, Michael
Mandeville has done research that has shown that the overall volcanic activity
on the Earth since 1875 has increased by roughly 500 percent. The overall
earthquake activity has increased by 400 percent just since1973. Natural
disasters increased 410 percent between 1963 and 1993 Dr. Dmitriev did a very
elaborate calculation of natural disasters. He showed that if you compare the
years 1963 through 1993, the overall amount of natural disasters of all
different kinds - whether you are talking hurricanes, typhoons, mud slides,
tidal waves, you name it -have increased by 410 percent. The Sun's magnetic
field increased by 230 percent since 1901 There is a study by
Dr. Mike Lockwood
from Rutherford Appleton National Laboratories in California, who has been
investigating the Sun. He has discovered that since 1901, the overall magnetic
field of the Sun has become 230 percent stronger than it was before. Some people
get into the idea that there is an interaction between the Earth and the Sun
that is going on here. Very, very few people are aware of the work that is being
done in the Russian National Academy of Sciences in Siberia, specifically in
Novosibirsk, where they are doing this research.

Scientists
have come to the conclusion that the only possible thing that could be causing
this energetic change all throughout the Solar System is that we are moving into
an area of energy that is different - that is higher. The glowing plasma at the
leading edge of our Solar System has recently increased 1000 percent. The Sun
itself has a magnetic field, of course, and that magnetic field creates an egg
around the Solar System, which is known as the heliosphere. The heliosphere is
shaped like a teardrop, with the long and thin end of the drop pointing in the
opposite direction from the direction that we are traveling. It is just like a
comet, where the tail is always pointing away from the Sun. The Russians have
looked at the leading edge of this heliosphere, and they have observed glowing,
excited plasma energy there. This plasma energy used to be 10 astronomical units
deep (an astronomical unit is the distance from the Earth to the Sun, 93,000,000
miles). So ten astronomical units represents the normal thickness of this
glowing energy that we used to see at the front end of the Solar System. Today,
that glowing plasma has gone to 100 astronomical units deep. Although Dmitriev's
paper does not give an exact timeline, we can assume that this increase happened
in the same 1963 to 1993 period as the increase he found in natural disasters.

In any
case, that is a
1,000 percent increase in the overall brightness of the energy at the front end
of the Solar System! And this means that the Solar System itself is moving into
an area where the energy is more highly charged. That higher-charged energy is
in turn exciting the plasma and causing more of it to form, so you see more
luminosity, more brightness. This energy is then flowing into the Sun, which in
turn emits the energy and spreads it out along its equatorial plane, which is
called the Ecliptic. This in turn is saturating interplanetary space, which
causes the solar emissions to travel more quickly and charge up the energy on
the planets.

From the
Hermetic viewpoint, this is conscious energy that is changing how the planet works,
how it functions, and what kind of life it supports. The harmonics of the
DNA spiral itself are also altering because of this. There is some evidence that
solar changes are the real, hidden cause of spontaneous mass evolutions in
previous epochs of time. All these planetary changes are happening on all levels
(physical, mental, and spiritual) at the same time. Many who are familiar with
ancient teachings point to the prophecies of planetary change that will work up
to a crescendo leading to a sudden shift in our reality. In other words, we will
get to the point where we are so far into the new level of energy that there
will be a sudden expansion of the basic harmonic wavelengths that the Sun emits
as it radiates energy out of itself. This increase in energy emission will
change the basic nature of all matter in the Solar System. The planets are
pushed slightly farther away from the Sun and the atoms and molecules that make
them up actually expand in terms of their physical size. As Above, so Below!

Galaxy on Earth: A Traveler’s Guide to the
Planet’s Visionary Geography (Hampton Roads, 2002, 577 pages) is an
unusual new book with a very Hermetic
interpretation of sacred sites. According to the author, the Earth's landscape
is an interactive living copy of both the cosmos and the spiritual nature of
the human and is has an integral part to play in the spiritual transformation
of the planet and its people. This book is a tourist guide to the Earth's
spiritual energy with important revelations on how to access and benefit from
that energy.

"We live," says the author, "on a planet where
gods and myths are alive in the landscape, and visions of the spiritual world
and mystical experiences are abundant. It is all part of the Earth's
multi-layered spiritual body. Think of it as the esoteric side of the Gaia
Hypothesis, as Gaia's secret galactic life."

The book
looks at 57 holy sites around the Earth and shows how historical,
archeological, mystical, and mythic facts and attributions are clues to a
site’s geomantic nature, Hermetic signature, and mode of use. All such sites are holy and numinous,
but not for the same reasons, and the author explains why in the book. He also explains that
the geomantic and energy structures — let’s call them subtle but interactive
temples — found at these sites can be classified into at least 45 different
types. Each type of energy structure has a different and predictable effect on consciousness
and can be used as part of a self-directed initiatory process independent of
any religious or spiritual dogma.

Further, the author shows
that these 45 geomantic features correspond to equivalent structures in the
spiritual worlds and in the overall human constitution. These equivalencies
put one in
immediate and effortless resonance with these sites. This is in accordance
with the Hermetic axiom, "As above, so Below," and to which the
author would add:
"and in the Middle too." This means the archetypes of the spiritual world
(Above) are mirrored in the organization of the human (Below) and in the
Earth’s visionary geography. The spiritual terrain of sacred sites gives us a galaxy
on Earth to tap into and use for our own alchemical transformation.

Mysterium 2003: A Weekend of Magic,
Alchemy, and Ritual Theater will be held February
7-9 at the the Las Vegas Magical Arts Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This event promises to be one of the most important Hermetic conferences of
the new year. During this volatile time, the principles of alchemy offer
effective tools to thwart our apocalyptic bent. The classical arcane goal of
turning lead into gold is an apt metaphor for the transformation we require
now, both personally and globally. How can we enlighten the lead of
depression, fear and despair that holds so many people hostage? By what
methods can we turn the pandemic of environmentally based diseases into
opportunities for a healthier and more fulfilled future? Whether responding
to global issues or specific personal needs — whether for physical healing
or for spiritual growth and development, our inherent ability to recognize
and utilize available intelligence is often underestimated and overlooked.

Sunday Feb. 9 12:00 "The GREAT WORK-shop":
Explorations in Magic Ritual and Alchemy with all of our artists (open to
all).

Sunday Feb. 9 4:00 Mysterium ritual and
closing circle.

Tuition: $100.00 for all events. Includes the Candledance
celebration, lectures, workshops, the overnight dream ritual, and Sunday brunch.
Space is limited, so if you want to participate in all the events you must
register by calling Abbi at 702-540-0021. Separate pricing available for
individual days. For more information, visit
http://www.mcbridemagic.com/MAC/details.php?id=91 .

Experience
Festival. Madras, India. February 9-15, 2003.

At the "Experience Festival" in the "Golden City"
outside Madras/Chennai in South India, February 9-15, 2003, the
participants will have a unique introduction to ancient wisdom from around
the globe. The intent of the festival is based on the belief that humanity
in ancient times were more able to live in profound happiness, heal
illnesses, develop extrasensory perception and even reach spiritual
enlightenment. The Experience Festival will feature workshops within
various themes of knowledge such as Ayurveda, Kabbalah, Vaastu, astrology,
the Mayan calendar, Vedic Art, mysticism, enlightenment, and much more.
There will also be all sorts of playful activities such as music, singing,
dancing and creation of collective art. The first courses in the World
University will take place during the nine days immediately after the
Experience Festival, February 17-25, and in the same location. For more
information - please see
http://www.experiencefestival.com or send an email to
info@experiencefestival.com
.

Alchemy Initiation
Workshop. Los Angeles. April
12, 2003.

Dennis William Hauck will present an
all-day workshop at the EarthSpirit Center
in Los Angeles on Saturday, April
12, 2003. The intensive workshop will focus on methods of alchemical
initiation, including meditations, engravings, and other experiential tools.
Initiatic tinctures and oils will be used in this class to facilitate the
production of alchemical states of consciousness. The class meets from 10 AM
to 6 PM and the fee is $85. Space is limited. To register or for more
information, contact the EarthSpirit Center at P.O. Box 412141, Los
Angeles, California, 90041. Phone: (323) 254-5458. Website:
www.EarthSpiritCenter.com.
Email:
info@earthspiritcenter.com.

Philosophical Research
Society. Los Angeles. April 13.

"Taming the Alchemical Dragon" is the
topic of a lecture by practicing alchemist Dennis William Hauck to be presented at the
Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 13, 2003, at
11:00 AM. The presentation focuses on the mysterious First Matter of the
alchemists and reveals how they worked with this chaotic and powerful energy
in their labs and within their own souls. The slide lecture features
original paintings and engravings by alchemists from around the world
depicting the First Matter. The fee is $5 and may be paid at the door. For
more information, contact the Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz
Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90027. Phone: (323) 663-2167. Website:
www.PRS.org. Email:
info@prs.org.

Transformative Energy
Workshop. Los Angeles. April
13.

"How to Connect with Transformative
Energy" is the title of a workshop with Dennis William
Hauck. He will discuss the true nature of the First Matter and instruct
participants in connecting with this hidden energy on all levels of
body, mind, and soul to perform alchemical transformations. The workshop is
from 1:30 to 3:30 PM on Sunday, April 13, and costs $15. For more
information, contact the Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz
Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90027. Phone: (323) 663-2167. Website:
www.PRS.org. Email:
info@prs.org.

One of the first tenets of alchemical
initiation is that you must experience the ancient truths firsthand. You
will never understand these principles just by reading about them.
Sometimes this "self-illumination" happens in the inspired presence of your
teacher, and sometimes it happens in the inspired space of your own
private meditations. This "inspired" presence or space is a very real
thing in alchemy. It is the Hermetic Incubator, the Holy of Holies, where
divine energy and wisdom pour down from Above. This is Mercury Space, the
sacred realm of Thoth, where the Hermetic reality is most obvious. If you
cannot access this space, if you cannot purify your own environment
(physically, mentally, and spiritually) to make the sacred space manifest,
then you cannot finish your alchemical initiation. The Work is never just
in the head, but in the heart and body as well.

I am reminded of the words of the
16th-century alchemist, Simon Forman, when asked to give advice to those
interested in pursuing the Great Work. "Crave wisdom of God, the sense to
understand," he warned, "or else meddle not herewith, nor take it in hand.
For it will cost thee much worldly wealth. But trust no others, and do it
yourself. Learn therefore, first to cleanse, purify and sublime; to
dissolve, congeal, and distill; and sometimes to conjoin and separate, and
how to do it all -- so that when you think to rise, you do not fall. Trust
only yourself and no other. I can say no more to you if you were my
brother."

The content of the Emerald Tablet is quite short
and deals with the nature of magic and the creation of life and matter by one
God. Philosophical in nature, the text is often ambiguous and requires abstract
interpretation. Hermes may have also derived his moniker "Thrice Great" from the
tablet, its twelfth entry stating: "Therefore am I called Hermes Trismegistus,
possessing the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world."

For it
is in the Above, the universal knowledge, that unseen cosmic swirl of energy and
information that you must tap into for your answers – for all your answers come
from Above and all your questions come from Below.

Magnetic
fields and brightness of the planets are also changing. The planets are
experiencing sizable changes in their overall brightness. Venus, for
example, is showing us marked increases in its overall brightness.
Jupiter has gotten to have such a high energetic charge that there is
actually a visible tube of ionizing radiation that is formed between its
moon, Io. You can actually see the luminous energy tube in photographs
that have been taken more recently.